Motor truck for freight handling



Feb. 4, 1930. we. 'BRINTON MQTOR TRUCK FOR FREIGHT HANDLING Original Filed Nov.. 21, 1913 4 Sheets-Sheet mum/r01? v ATTOR/VEY" WITNESSES {we Feb. 4, 1930. w, c, B al o 7 1,745,598

MOTOR TRUCK FOR FREIGHT HANDLING -Original Filed Nov. 21, 1913 4 s s 2 Agra WI T/ VE SSE S Feb. 4, 1930.

W. C. BRINTON MOTOR TRUCK FQR FREIGHT HANDLING 1913 4 SheetsSheet 3 Original Filed Nov. 21

" INVE/VTQR \SWQMM ATTORNEY Feb. 4, 1930. w. c. BRINTON 3 MOTOR TRUCK FOR FREIGHT HANDLING Original Fi led Nov. 21, 1913 4 She'ets-She et 4 ,4? "1L I I42 l 11 .4 J4 l i Patented' Feh. 4, 1930 v UNITED stares PATENT OFFICE wintalin c. BRINTON, F NEW 9M N-. essi u a o T RMINAL ENGINEERING a s me, INc NEW YQEK, it Yes. CQRPOBATIQN O NEW YORK.

oron TRUCK ron FREIGHT HANDLING Gontinuation ofrapplicat-ion SeriaLNo; 802,192, filed Nov-ember- 21, 1813. This application filed April 10, 181$,fierialN'a, 227,834. Renewed August 14, 19:23. I

' My invention relates to freight handling and has special reference to motor-operated trucks which areadapted for this purpose.

.Qne object ofmy invention is to provide a particularly powerful and compact motor truck that shall be capable of handling freight economically not only on a dock or in a wareho-usawas for example in loading and unloading freight onto and from a ship or freight car -but also over comparatively rough roads.

Anotherobject is to provide auxiliary aptparatus which shall be relatively inexpensive and largely. increase the amount of Work which a single truck is able to perform, with a viewto keeping the relatively expensive motor truck actively in'operation for a large 1 proportion of the time Another object. is to provide a truck, of

the character above indicated, that shall 6X;- ert a very large traotive effort in order that it may be able to climb steep grades under full load andhaultrailers if desired. My invention; does not, however pertain, essentially to a locomotive,but on the contrary the truck; of my invention is primarily in:

tended to carry a load on its own back.

. Still another object of my invention is to provide a ftlfllck thatshall embody'a plus rality of jacks orhoisting devices for lifting abench or platformor some s mila immob e -device, on, whicha load may be placed independently of'the. truck, -Anoth'er object of my invention is to proides motor vehicle having hois ing jacks and equipped. with ahoist ng mot r f r ac uating the jacks and an interposed slip or friction con f t on to l mit the. f rc s ran mitted and prevent'a cid nt u stripping of the gear te th w n the j asks re fu ly eleva e-d or lowered,

Another object is to Pro ide a mo or vehicl'eyhaving hoisting jacks arranged to he;

concurren y tu t d, a hoisting m tor therefor and nterposed on-overhau ng gearing. whichis arranged and adapted to support full load in anyposition of elevation,

thereby,making'it necessary to apply power tion and control of the truck, the turning of sharp corners and the carrying of a wide di: versity of merchandise, either directly on the platform of the truck, or on an auxiliary bench or platform supported on the truck Jacks It has been my aim to provide a motor ve: hicle. having larger wheels and much greater power than'terminal or baggage trucks used hitherto in order to adapt the vehicle to travel over rough roads as well as on the terminal and warehouse floors. F urther: more, I provide a vehicle arranged to elevate and carry loading platforms which have decks at the usual height for loading freight cars. I also arrange the storage battery where it does not reduce'the loading capacity of the Vehicle and where its Weight is equitably dis-. tributed on the driving Wheels. The control means for the hoisting motor is close to the controller which governs the vehicle motor and the driver can readily manipulate both together. For example, he may lower his hoists as he is bringing'his truck to a stop and may start before his load is fully ele-. vated.

Qther objects and advantages of my in: vention will be set forth hereinafter, and I will describe my invention in the following specification and point out the novel fca tures thereof in appended claims.

' In the drawings,:

, Figure l is a transverse sectional elevation looking forward from behind the front axle,

of a truck arranged and constructed in ac-- cordance with my invention.

A longitudinal section of the front part of ure 7 is a plan view on a larger scale, of one of the hoisting jacks which form parts of the truck. Y

A side elevation of the hoisting motor and its gearing is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 9 shows a steering wheel and its gearing.

A modification'of my invention, arranged to utilize compressed air for actuating the jacks, is shown diagrammatically in Figure 10, one of the air operated jacks being shown in section in Figure 11.

. Figure 12 is a diagrammatic viewcorrespending to Figure 10 f another modification, arranged to operate by hydraulic pressure, Figure 13 being a section through one of the hydraulic jacks.

- Still other modifications are shown in Figuresl l and 15 in which cams form parts of the jacks.

It will be evident to thoseskilled in the art to which this invention pertains, that various mechanical and electrical means may be utilized for accomplishing the same general result, and while I consider the arrangement of Figures 1 to 9 inclusive to be preferable, the modifications are included in order to indicate the scope rather than to restrict the invention, consequently I intend that only such limit-ationsbe imposed as are. indicated in the appended claims.

Referring to Figures 1 to 9 inclusive of the drawings The truck here shown comprises a platform 10, front and rear axles 15 and 16, driving wheels 20, wheel motors 25, a plurality of lifting jacks 30, a hoisting motor 40, a storage battery 60, and suitable steering and control mechanisms.

' As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the truck is adapted to be used in conjunction with a plurality of auxiliary benches or platforms 70 and in order that it may be economically utilized for the purpose for which it is: in-

' tended, the vertical height of the truck platform must be very small. To enablethe truck to make sharp turns, each of the four wheels 15 arranged to be tilted through an angle of substantially forty-five degrees. In fulfilling the aforesaid conditions and'at the same time providing relatively powerful motors, and a large storage battery from which the motors may be supplied with energy, the careful arrangement of all of the apparatus on th truck is of great importance.

. The platform is composed of a frame built up of channel beams 11 set on edge at the respective sides, with the smooth web surface exposed, and sills 12 and transverse angle irons 12; The floor of the platform is preferably composed of sheet steel and is riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the frame. At one end of the truck, secured to one of the end sills 12 are a plurality of vertical stakes 14 which extend materially above the floor of the platform and a step 13, on i which the truck operator may stand.

. The truck is adapted to operate in either direction with equal facility, but for convenience in description, the end having the stakes and step is herein referred to as the front of the truck. 7

The front and rear axles 15 and 16 are similar to each other and are interchangeable. They are each connected at their respective ends to trunnions 26, which are a part of the wheel motor frames, by steering knuckle pins 17. The trunnions26areformed on 'the' tops of the motors, in order'to permit the use of motors having relatively large outside diameters while maintaining the necessary clearance from the ground with relatively small wheels. This arrangement constitutes well known type, which forms no part of my present invention andconsequently is not illustrated.

Each wheel with its motor acts as a unit and A the two wheels at the respective ends'of the truck are interconnected by steering links 27, which are pivotally connected to suitable projections 28 on the sides-of the motor frames.

The platform is supported from the front and rear axles by semi-elliptical springs 18 which are connected to the axlesby yokes 19. Asclearly shown in Figures 2 and 9, the steering mechanism comprises a hand wheel 50 which is arranged to operate in a plane par-.

allel to theplane ofthe stakesl l so that it may be conveniently manipulated by an operator when standing on the step 13. It is connected by sprockets 51 and 52 and an interposed chain 53 to a shaft 5 1 which'extends inwardly below the floor of the platform, and which carries a rocking arm or lever 55. This lever is connected at its lower end by a ball and socket joint and a link 56 to one ofthe steering cross rods 27. At itsfupper end it is attached to a steering cable 57.-

At the opposite end of hetruck, is-anoth'er rocking arm or lever 55 'simila'rfyconnected to the adjacent steering link 27 and attached to the same cable 57 at its'u pper end. The ca ble 57 extends over guide sheeves 58 located as hereinafter explained, near the corners of the platform frame andby' this means it is kept in the side channels 11 where it operates freely without reducing the'space available for the storage battery 60..

By turning the hand Wheel 50, the cable 57 is moved in onedirection or the other so as to swing the wheels on the steering knuckle pins,

and thus effect a maximum turning of the truck with a minimum adjustment of the Wheels. The links56 interconnect that portion of the steering mechanism which is supported upon the wheel structures and which I is, therefore, a part of the unsprung weight of the truck with the portion carried by the ,7 frame and'supported at an angle to the longitudinal center line of the truck, (see Figure 1) and thus theeifect on the steering of variations in the springs, caused by road irregularities, is materially reduced.

The middle section of the platform consists of aremovable steel plate 10 which is directly above the storage battery. The battery box is provided with a lower set of transf verse angle irons 61 which are arrangedto hook onto ledges on the transverse beams 12,

when the battery is lowered into position. An

upper set of transverse angle irons 62are lo cated near the upper edge of the box and const tute a ready means. for engaging crane books or other suitable tackle for lifting the 7 battery out of the truck.

One of the principal features of my invention is the jacks or'hoisting' means 30. These arelocated close to the side of the frame and near its ends, being bolted to the channels 11. In other words they are located near the four to corners of the frame. 'When they occupy-their lowered positions, thetop surfacesof the jack are substantially flush with the floor of the platform 10 and consequently they do not in any way interffere with the utilization of the platform of the truck for carrying loads placed directly 511F011 it; 'Furthermore the arrangement is such, thatralrelatively smooth, unobstructed surface'is presented except for a small recess in the center of each jack, and consequently there is no oportuni'ty for dirt or foreign matter to da-magethe jack, no matter whatis piled'onto the floor ofthe platform.-

- The jacks, which are covered per se in my Patent No. 1,267,051, of May 21, 1918, the

application for which was copending herewitl1,are similar to'ea-ch other and each com- ,prises (see Figures 6 and 7).. astationary i bracket 31 which. preferably has the general form of a cup, a spindle 32, an actuating thimble and a hoistingquill 34 which is arranged to slide up and down in the thimble '33 but is prevented from turning by keys 35.

The floor plate 10 is provided for each jack with an opening 36- through which the hoist ing quill operates, the floor plate being res inforced at the opening by a flanged ring 37 which is slotted to receive the, keys and'const-itutes a bearing for the upper end of the member 34. The lower end of the quill 34 is enlarged tofit the hollow cylindrical opening in the thimble 33, the arrange- 1116111) being such; that an annular shoulder 38 is provided to limit theoutward movement eafijthe; quillfiby engaging the flanged milk forcing ring 37. The quill 34 is provided with central opening which is constricted near its lower end and is tapped to engage the threaded portion of the spindle 32. The upper part of the quill ishollow to form a greasecup 39 and is closed by a plug 39.

The spindle 32, has a collar 32 which rests on a shoulder 33 of the thimble 33. The lower part of the spindle which is below the collar, is preferably pressed into a suitable hole in the bottom of the thimble and is firmly secured to the thimble by a key 33 or 'other suitable means. An annular thrust bearing 31 'is mounted within the cup-shaped bracket 31 at the bottom, and supports the thimble 33 and the spindle which is secured to it. i

The thimble at its upper end, is fitted onto the lower part of the flanged ring 37 which constitutes a guide bearing. Opposite this bearing, near the upper end of the thimble, is a sprocket wheel 33 which is engaged by a hoisting chain 45.

Rotatably mounted on the thimble adjacent to the sprocket wheel is a sheave 48 which constitutes a guide for the steering cable 57 The lower end of the spindle is guided by a bearing 31 in the bracket 31, the bearings 31 and 31 being supplied with lubrication through grease passages 31 and 32 which communicate at the lower end of the spindle with a compression grease cup 32.

Before proceeding with the description of the truck and its 0196f tion, the operation of a single jack will. be included as follows: The thimble 33 and the spindle 32 which are secured to each other, are rotated by the cooperation of the sprocket chain with. the sprocket wheel 33. Since the member 34 is screwthreaded onto the upper end of the spindle and is prevented from turning by the keys 35, the rotation of the spindle in one direction causes the member 34 to slide up.- wardly within the cylindrical opening of the thimble.

When the member 34 is in its lowered position, vin which it engages the collar 32 of the spindle, as shown in Figure 6,the top of the member is flush with the floor plate 10 and the extent to which the member may be raised is limited by the-engagement of the shoulder 38 with the lower end of the flanged reinforcing ring 37. Y

In order to prevent the accumulation of dust and dirt in the jack, the thimble 33 is provided nearthe bottom,,vnfth lateral openings 33 through which dust may fall into the cup-shaped bracket 31;. This b acket is pro ided w th one or more discharge openings 31 which open. downwa dly and Wi l permit the dirt to escape without danger of any c nsiderable amount of dirt entering from below. o

As show in Figure. 6, the sprocket wheel adjacent channel 11' of the truck frame.

This-permits the chain 45 and the cable 57 to extend from one of the jacks at the front end of the truck to one of the jacks 'at the rear without decreasing the space available a under side of the platform near the front with its shaft vertical and it is suitably connected to the sprocket wheel 41 bya back gear shaft 42, a gear wheel 48 and a pinion 44. Other gearing may be employed, but Iprefer to utilize a relatively high speed motor in order that a motor of small dimensions may exert a powerful lifting force at each of thefour hoisting jacks.

In order to avoid possibility of injuring the hoisting motor or the gearing when the hoisting members reach the ends of their strokes, I employ a friction drive mechanism. For examplethe gear wheel 43 may comprise a rim 43 which is adapted to slip relative to friction disks 4?), the disks being clamped together by bolts 43". The operator is provided' with a control lever 80 for the hoisting motor '40, a second control lever 90 by 'me'ans'of which he governs the operation of the wheel motors 25. The steering of the truck is effected as already pointed outby means of the handwheel 50. The truck and its motors are so arranged and constructed that the -truck may be operated up a very steep grade on a comparatively narrow platform or gangplank and the permissible swing tot-he wheels is such that the truck may make a turn having'its center of curvature near the center of one side of the truck platform.

7 From the foregoing description the general utility of the truck will be apparent and therefore, while its field of usefulness is by no means limited to any particular class of service, I will now describe more in detail the utilization of the truck in connection with a large number of relatively stationary benches or platforms, such as the platform 70. p

The platform illustrated in Figures 3 and 5 comprises a pair of longitudinal beams 71, which are tapered off at their respective ends on their inside surfaces so that they c o nsti-' tute guideways forfacilitating the backing of the truck} under the platform, and transverse planks "72', which are bolted or otherwise firmly secured to the beams 71 on leg 78. The cross planks are preferably cut off at their ends flush with the outer surfaces of'the beams 71 which, as above inferred, arespaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the width'of the truck platform. The height of the platform is slight1y-greater from the floor The platform is shown as reinforced at the points where it is engaged by the lifting jacks by the bearing plates 72 secured between the sills and the under sides of theplanks 72 (Figs. 8 and 5) which form bearings or contact members to be engaged by the jacks and serve to distribute the load.

Attention is directed to the fact that the track platform extends only slightly beyond the truck wheels in a lateral direction and that the sides of the platform are smooth surfaces rendering the manipulation of the truck with or without the stationary bench or plat- 1 form particularly easy; r For the same reason, the bench has smooth edge surfaces and only'extends a comparatively short distance beyond the sides of the, truck when it is mounted on it. his desirable in many cases,

however to have the stationary bench considerably longer than the truck in'order to-in-' crease the carrying capacity-of the bench.

The distance between the legs of the bench from front to back corresponds to the wheel base of the truck and the distance from one I set of legs to the front end of the bench corresponds to the distance from the front wheel centers to the stakes 14 on the truck.-

If the bench is approximately equal in length to the truck, the longitudinal beams of the bench will be tapered off at both ends and it will be immaterial under which end the truck is backed, but if the bench is materially longer than the truck, only one end of the longitudinal beams will be taperedcoff since the truck will be preferably backed under the bench in such position that when the end of the bench engages thev stakes, the legs of the bench will be located substantially opposite v the bench off the floor. This may be accomplished in a very short time'and the truck,

loaded with the bench and with whatever has been previously placed on the bench, may "proceed to a greater or less distance and quickly set down its load by merely operat I ing thehoistingmotor in the reverse direction.

It will be readily understood that a single truck used in conjunction with a number of benches may accomplish many times the amount of work which a single truck could accomplish if it is necessary to'keep the truck llO l pistons here shown v waiting while a load or ordinary merehandi e in" bags, bases 'or crates" or in" any 'forni is being loaded and unroad'ed directly onto or fronr-itspiatform; A-t tnesame tiinetlre truck 1 p constructed togea'rry' load direcflyonits been;

By designing the relativelystatibnany A e ame time t ere is ne'uanger' or their easiest with the'igroun qaenuy they" may more ream-y be an; raingedeind answerer haildlif very heavy leads The-center of grayity ar ue. load on the pl a t frni'iskeptniat y nearby rea, sea er the'fact- -t n-i'y reheat-trou h hor't aistanceby the: actionof the jacks 1 edull stroke arenajaclits' is' not the 3 "sneer assassins the tater s rings and tires yield and permit the truck name to be 's omewhat depressed. It willbe seen thatthe location-6f the relatively heavystorage bat terybetwe eii the ofiwheel'sand' below I the platform lev'e'l imparts great stability to the truck. This feature is of importance in practice and renders the truck capable of rais- I ing large loads which sometimes are unevenly 1 disposed upon the platform. I

The truck of my invention is particularly arranged and adapted for severe service conures 10 and 11 comprises in general, a compressed air storagetank 100, a compressor 101, a driving motor 102 therefor, and a pluralityofcylinders 103 in which hoisting pis- 7 tons 104' operate. Suitable pipe connections 105 join the cylinders 103 to a supply pipe 106 in which a control valve 107 is located. The supply pipe is connected to the storage tank 100. The pistons maybe raised simultaneously by merely throwing the control valve lever 108 so as to admit compressed air to'the cylinders 103 under the pistons; To lower the 'pistonsthe valve lever'is thrown to such a 2 position as to exhaust the cylinders 103. This arrangement hasthe advantage that no poweris required for lowering the pistons. The constitute the hoisting 5 members.

In Figures 12 and 13 is illustrated a hy since the benhlegs are opposite thbfii heel ditions which have not hitherto been success-' dranlie arrangement which comprises cylifi: de'rs' 113 andpistonsllewhieh are loeatedanct connected somewhat the cylindersaln'd pistons of the arrangement-shown in Figures 10 and 11,-a11 of the cylinders being joined by pip'e connections 11:5, liquid being sup plied to or withdrawn froin the cylinders by, eonnectin hein either direetly to a ump 119 or to a storage tanlt116'. This" is acc'omplished by throwing a two-way valve 118' from one position to the other. The pump 119is actuated-by a motor 120 which may be started and stopped by any suitable con ti'oller and when operating draws liquid from the tank 116' and forces it" into the cylinders 113'.

Otherrniechanic'al arrangements for elevating pltmlity of hoisting members forms arts'efhoisting mks-ma be utilized; as, forexample,a plurality of cams 130 may be piyotally mounted on brackets V 131 as shown in Figure 14 and constitute hoisting jacks." With this arrangement a winding drum 132 is rotatably mounted near the rear of the truck frame and the hoisting motor is suitably connected thereto. At' each side of thetrujck' a cable'iscon'nected to a pair of the cams 130and is wound ontothe drum. When themotor is operated the cables are so' pulled a t raise the cams which adapted to ex"- tend through suitabl'eholes or slots in the truck platform. The be arranged to swingin any direction bu'tfwhen mounted as shpwath y tend to, move the' stati'onary bench platfofni a ainst stake the front and so assist in properly, placing the benehjon'the' truck. 1 ,1 f In'another arra gement aihoisting motor 140 (see Figniie' 15) is geared rte a shaft 141 to which seemed pai of sea-as- 142. Assuming that the] shaft 141 is transverse of the truck, pairof loiigitudiiial" shafts 143- are located near the fesipetive sides of thetrucl: and a provided with worm wheels 144 wlii chies'tablish an ope" vie connection with the steamer. pnneut jof (rams 145 are seemed to theshafts 143 are adapted to actuate hoisting members A. I

arranged t'o' slide up and down in guide beat- Thfehoistin'g jacks used in the arrangement of Figures 1 to 9 inclusive have the amen: tag'e ofbeingnon-overhauling that is, they Will -support, the load in any position inde pendently aft-he motor which" ep'erafies them to raiseandlower. i H

The arrangements of Figures 14 andit lso possess this advantage because of the woi iilt interpgised between the motor and the hoists inveach case.

At'tontion i funneldirected at the fact mann lever SOY-which covers the hoisting motor 740,- isloca ted close to the lever 90, by

whlch the operator governs the Vehicle driving motors and consequently the two motors 146 which are can be regulated with reference to each other. so as to save considerable time in manipula: tion of the load. For example, as already pointed out, the operator may start the vehicle as soon as the load is elevated sufficient; 1y to let the platform legs clearly touch the ground Without waiting for the load to be completely elevated. On the other hand, the operator may start the hoisting motor to lower the load before the vehicle is entirely at rest, if desired.

Other equlvalent arrangements may of course be utilized within the spirit and scope Instead of providing each of the truck wheels with a driving motor the truck may be drlven by one or more motors arranged and operatively connected to one or more of the wheels in any suitable way. Furthermore, it is not necessary that the truck shall have four wheels although I consider this arrangement preferable. I

WhatIclaimis: V 1. A motor truck having a plurality of wheels, driving means therefor, means for. pivotally mounting each wheel, a plurality of hoisting jacks disposed near the respective corners of the truck, means for actuating'the hoisting jacks concurrently, a guide means rotatably mounted on each jack and 5. A motor truck having a plurality of wheels,a driving motor, means for pivotally mounting the truck wheels, a plurality of hoisting jacks, means for actuating the hoisting jacks'concurrently, a guide meansrotatably mounted on each jack, and truck steering means for simultaneously turning the wheels of the truck arranged to cooperate With the guide means. 7 f

6. A truck comprlsing a platform having side channels arranged. with their smooth web surfaces outward, aplurality ofjhoisting jacks secured to the platform adjacent to the side channels, a hoisting motor and means for connecting the jacks to be concurrently operated by the motor, guide pulleys' extending into the side channels,ra steering cable cooperating with the pulleys, said means anld said cable being disposed in said channe s- 'In' witness whereof, I have hereuntolset I my hand this 29 day 'ofMarch, 1918. 1 VWIZLLARD o. BRINTON.

steering means for simultaneously turning j the wheels of the truck arranged to co-operate with the guide means.

2. A motor truck having a plurality of p 7 wheels, a driving motor for eachwheel, means for pivotally mounting each wheel with its motor, a plurality of hoisting jacks disposed near the respective corners of the truck, means for actuating the hoisting jacks concurrently, a pulley rotatably mounted on each I jack and a steering cable for simultaneously turning the four wheels of the truck arranged to co-operate with the guide pulleys.

3. A motor truck having a-plurality of Wheels, a driving motor for each wheel, means for pivotally mounting each wheel with its motor, a plurality of hoisting jacks disposed near the respective corners of the truck, a sprocket wheel and guide pulley on each jack, a motor, an interposed hoisting chain oo-operating with each of the sprocket wheels for concurrently actuating the jacks, 'a steering means and a cable connected to the steering means and co-operating with each of the guide pulleys. 

